Mastery of artistic technique while in rare cases a gift, mostly takes endless hours of effort to achieve. I recognize and appreciate that. That said, and after wading through the lengthy, pseudoesoteric, and borderline-unbearably, self-focused, pompousness of the text in this website, I'll cherry-pick here, a few sentences I found to be noteworthy.

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Essay - "At Play in the Slaughterhouse of American Pop" - Carlo McCormick - 2001

Today, considering the pictures of Mark Ryden, it seems quite possible that such contortions of content and context here may be as much an idiosyncratic inventory of this painter's private obsessions as it is some baroque symptomology for the greater public folly unleashed by a consumer media spectacle run amok.

Force fed on the obsessive compulsive diet of carnal indulgence and candy-coated junk that is America's great contribution to the history of bad taste, Mark Ryden expels it all from the gut, giving gastric voice to the soft-white underbelly of our manic materialism, and heaving forth the bile and the beauty of our frothy fantasies back into the great vomitorium of popular culture.

This sums up the art of Mark Ryden fairly well, but light on description of the " beauty of our frothy fantasies." Where is the beauty in this art, beyond technique?

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Artist Statement - "Meat" - October 2001 (Mark Ryden)

I've been asked over and over why I paint meat. I suppose I have to admit one of the reasons I like to paint meat is because people do wonder about it so much. There are actually many reasons. ...

The rest of this is an exercise in thought about all things "flesh" - living flesh destroyed and rendered lifeless. Consumption of flesh compared to sexual encounters. A reach at comparing literal consumption of flesh to the Catholic (specific) practice of Holy communion. An appreciation and admiration for the physical qualities and visual appeal of raw meat.

A dinner date with Mark would likely be a challenge, good or bad, depending.

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Artist Statement - "The Meat Show" - October 1998 (Mark Ryden)

Well, I have to admit I don’t really paint my paintings; a Magic Monkey does. He comes to my studio late at night, when it’s very quiet. Mysterious things happen late at night when most people are asleep. I help the magic monkey, but he does most of the work. My big job is to get him to show up. I’ve been learning just what that takes. He is very particular. The right frame of mind is important; I have to switch my brain from linear, logical thinking to creative, free feeling. If I start to think too much, then it’s time for a nap or perhaps build a fort out of blankets with my son. Things have to flow from a place that is more subconscious and uninhibited. When you believe and have faith things will flow. You can really feel it. It’s like magic. The Monkey comes tapping at the door, we get the paint and brushes out of the treasure chest and we have a great time making art.

All credit, responsibility, blame, for his life's work, he attributes to a magic monkey , a character he's invented, that lives in his uninhibited subconscious. Call this creative quirkiness, or a glaring excuse for future court appearances, or don't consider it at all. Your choice.

Agreed. Ugh. I wish none of any of this were true

Check out "blood"

Each with a creep factor

I know his art is borderline pedophile but I love his art. sorry. I don't know if I would go as far as saying that he has any connection to any of this. But i have been following his art for years and I love it and have bought many of the prints. As an artist I can appreciate his works because they are illustrated so beautifully. I will admit though that it does have a creep factor at times when it comes to relating it to this, and I really hope that he has no connection to it. I am also going to say that as an artist for decades, that in art there is a lot of "shocking" subject matter and his does not shock me like most of the art I have seen collected by the Podestas and Alefantis. I have yet to see Ryden's artwork in their collections, but i would not doubt that they collect it.

Stump baby and Girl eaten by Tree are kind of odd also.

Check out "the tree of life"! Creeps!!!